The creator of "Grey's Anatomy" said at Tuesday's Television Critics Association summer meeting she was faced with either having Shepherd leave Pompeo's Meredith Grey and taint their love story, or be killed off, keeping it intact.

"The only way to preserve what felt true to me was that Derek was gonna have to die," she said.

Pompeo said the loss was an interesting challenge creatively because "those are the best scenes to play" as an actor.

"So many people lose their spouses in a myriad of different ways and feel they can't get up again and to tell the story of how life goes on after ... that's a story worth telling."

Earlier Tuesday, ABC President Paul Lee addressed the polarizing choice to kill off Dempsey's character. "It was great to see 'Grey's Anatomy' so relevant and taking the national conversation," he said.